Is Steve Lawson Free To Return To Ministry?

[00:00:00]Steve Lawson back?

[00:00:03]Is that possible?

[00:00:05]Is it biblical?

[00:00:08]There is a rumor out that Steve Lawson is apparently back.

[00:00:14]He's supposed to be speaking at a conference. Now, when you go to the to the website, as a matter of fact, let's go over to the website now.

[00:00:21]Something that's kind of strange, it's this Contending for the Faith Conference. And when you click on it where it says here meet the speakers, let's click on it. And let's just scroll down a little bit and let's just see who's going to be here some of these pastors here.

[00:00:37]Let's see, 24 speakers in all. And as we drop down now, there's some people that I I don't think that anyone should be associated with. Obviously, you got these female preachers who this is something that Steve Lawson would have would have been against before falling away moving away from from his ministry as post.

[00:00:55]These female pastors, these female preachers who he would not have been in leagues with or would have said that this was biblical. Well, you don't see what you don't see here is you don't see him actually on there. So, the question is is he there? Maybe he saw that and said I I can't be a part of that. My beliefs don't want to allow for that.

[00:01:17]Maybe he decided to push back away from that after any I guess some sort of I don't know. Maybe some sort of pushback.

[00:01:25]People saying that hey, he shouldn't be back.

[00:01:28]There's the question right there. Should he be allowed to return at least in some capacity? Now, if you're not familiar with Steve Lawson, very prominent preacher.

[00:01:38]Matter of fact, one of the more viral and more famous clips you've seen in on social media regarding sound doctrine being preached.

[00:01:46]>> Give us A MAN WHO KNOW THE TRUTH.

[00:01:50]>> [applause] >> NOW, he was pastoring a church. He wasn't I found out we had he actually wasn't pastoring a church, he was the guest speaker of the church every Sunday of a church that he was not even a member of and he would just get up and leave immediately after service. And then come to find out that he was having some sort of relationship with a younger woman, apparent apparently according to to all parties that this was not a sexual relationship.

[00:02:16]Don't know.

[00:02:18]But we have to go with what was told to us. And so because of that, he was removed from the Shepherd's Conference and other conferences and just removed from other different, I think G3 and other other conferences that would not that used to fellowship and be associated with him. They were no longer associated with him after that.

[00:02:38]The question is though, after stepping down, is this a lifetime ban? Is he allowed biblically? I understand some organizations would say that no, this person can never come back, but is he allowed biblically to be back?

[00:02:52]>> [snorts] >> The Bible didn't really say a lot about someone in Steve Lawson's position, that is to come back and to be a pastor. Now, there are passages that speak about someone who wants to be an overseer, an elder. And let's look at let's look at what it says in 1 Timothy 3. This is a trustworthy statement, if any man aspires the office of overseer, it is a fine work if he desires.

[00:03:13]An overseer then must be and here it is.

[00:03:16]This is where people say that he is unqualified above reproach.

[00:03:21]Here is the interesting thing about this passage though. What it says is must be it's necessary for him to be above reproach. But the word that's used here, must be, this is the keyword right here.

[00:03:32]Or let's go to the Greek, this word einai, which is this is a present active word. This is from the verb to be, presently, right now, at this moment. This does not state that he has to have always been.

[00:03:50]Now, if someone wants to read it that way, fine. But, that's just not what the text says. So, the text does not say that he has to have always been above reproach. In other words, once you've once you leave the the realm of above reproach, you can never get it back. Or, once disqualified, always disqualified.

[00:04:10]The problem is though, the text doesn't say that. Because if that's the case, ladies and gentlemen, who qualifies then?

[00:04:18]Or, which what determines if you are no longer above reproach?

[00:04:24]What because we will find out if a person who has done something if let's say they've been married multiple times or what have you.

[00:04:30]Uh they've cheated on their wife or they've done something wrong. There are some parts in here that we have see that tells us the above uh I'm sorry, the the husband of one wife.

[00:04:41]And so, this person may have violated that portion of it. But, you know we don't do? If we're going to use that as the standard, which by the way it is, it's it's a qualification. Now, again, it's the verb to be I n a at present.

[00:04:54]He must also be temperate. We don't use this standard against pastors who aren't temperate.

[00:04:59]Or who aren't prudent. Or who aren't respectable. Or who aren't who aren't hospitable.

[00:05:04]Even unfortunately who aren't able to teach.

[00:05:07]Uh those who are pugnacious, not gentle but or and not peaceful. We don't we don't use those say, "Well, hey this person was angry um and spoke down and condescending to the members and so therefore he is completely and forever disqualified." We don't use that same sort of rationale in certain sins in certain things that probably should disqualify them at least for the moment. We don't do that. Why? Because often times we pick out which sins are the ones that we think disqualifies a person for good and some which sins or which failures would make a person have to just, you know, sit down for a moment.

[00:05:47]Now, we don't have anyone in the Bible that's ever sat down. The closest that we can get to is someone who has done something wrong um and then be allowed to come back would be Peter.

[00:05:58]Peter denied Jesus verbally, publicly, three times.

[00:06:03]And then what was Jesus' response to him? He says, "Peter, or Simon Simon, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And once you when you returned or have turned again, strengthen your brothers." In other words, you are going to do this thing. You're going to deny me three times, but when you return.

[00:06:27]So, Peter verbally denied Jesus, walked away, and was brought back and says, "Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?" three times, and Peter responded in the affirmative, and Jesus simply said, "Feed my sheep."

[00:06:40]Is that the same thing? I don't know. If it happened today, what would you say?

[00:06:43]You would say, "Yeah, Peter is permanently disqualified." Now, we're talking though about and then in Peter's case, an apostle. In 1 Timothy's case, a a a pastor or an elder. What about someone who's not trying to be a pastor?

[00:06:58]Could Steve Lawson come back and just simply teach the word of God?

[00:07:02]Could he come back and could he just preach the gospel? Not as a pastor, but just to evangelize. The Bible says as far as a teacher, he says, "Let not many of you become in James 3, um let not many of you become a teacher, my brother, knowing that such uh will incur a stricter judgment.

[00:07:20]For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is perfect and able to bridle his whole body as well.

[00:07:28]Is he not qualified to teach anymore? In other words, if he wanted to go to a seminary to teach, if he wanted to just have a teaching ministry, if he wanted to go along around the world and evangelize, could he do so? Is he allowed to evangelize anyone? Well, if he's a believer, his job is to evangelize. If he's a believer, his job is to share the gospel with whomever.

[00:07:51]What happens if someone asks him a question? Can he answer the question if he knows the answer to it? Well, sure.

[00:07:56]Well, can he do that as a kind of a as a ministry as a focus?

[00:08:01]Again, the Bible doesn't say that he can't.

[00:08:04]This is the hard lesson that we're going to have to get past.

[00:08:08]The Bible doesn't say that Steve Lawson, if he wanted to, that he can't. Now, I don't know what you think about this text, but let's just look at this text for a second. It says, "Brethren, if if anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness."

[00:08:24]Now, someone's going to say, "Well, no, you can you can restore him back to the body."

[00:08:29]Uh you can restore him back to fellowship. The problem is that's not really what the text is saying. By the way, you don't leave the body even if you have fallen into sin. If you are true believer, you don't leave the body. So, you So, this can't mean restoring them back to the body. This can't mean, really truth be told, restoring them back to fellowship. The only one that would be taken out of fellowship is someone who is constantly in sin and refuses to abide by what the body says to do or someone that you see in first uh Corinthians 5, the you know, the man who was sleeping with his father's wife and Paul turned him over to Satan.

[00:09:08]>> [snorts] >> Those are the only times that the person is removed from the fellowship of the of the person.

[00:09:13]But, a person who has committed a sin and agrees and acknowledges that, uh is that person Where do we see that person being removed from fellowship? If he is, that's the fault of the body.

[00:09:27]So, how can you take this text? Well, what you don't do with this text, you shouldn't do with this text, is read too much into it to make it agree with your beliefs.

[00:09:37]It says to restore the person. Now, to what to what degree or what area? I don't know.

[00:09:43]And since I don't know, and since it doesn't say so, you know what you can't do? You can't add in your preferences.

[00:09:50]Now, if you belong to a particular denomination or organization that says, "Yeah, once that happens, that's it."

[00:09:56]Fine. Get that. But, it doesn't mean that he's precluded forever. So, is Steve Lawson allowed to come back and teach or to speak at a conference? Sure.

[00:10:06]Unfortunate for some people, absolutely.

[00:10:11]Uh if he's not, then God help us all.

[00:10:13]Because no one, including Peter, including you or your favorite pastor, is allowed to. Because you're going to have to ask the question, "What sin are you allowed to to do as a pastor or your favorite pastor is allowed to do and still be a pastor?" Because you're going to tell me that he doesn't sin. Now, I'm not saying that he is in a position that he should come back.

[00:10:32]Because the issue with coming back, let's go back to 1 Timothy uh 3. The issue that is going to be there There's There's two groups of people that have to kind of approve of this.

[00:10:44]And that's kind of implicit in 1 Timothy 3. He says the person must be above reproach, but he says respectable.

[00:10:53]That is for the believer. How the believer sees that That is the people in the church. How does the church view this person? Now, sometimes you can commit a particular sin and it's so egregious or it was so public that people can't get past that.

[00:11:08]And all they do when they see you is that. All they hear when they hear you is not the word, but hear from a man who is guilty of that particular sin. And so, though it's not fair and it's not consistent across the board, this person can do the exact same thing as another person. One is away for 5 years, another is away for forever or 30 years.

[00:11:27]It varies. It depends upon the person, the nature, and the circumstances. And then there's another group that also has to be involved in this. If we drop down to verse uh seven, and he must have a good reputation with those outside the church. Now again, we're talking about an elder, but he must have a good reputation with those outside the church. Cuz how are you going to bring them in if they don't if they think that you are just as wrong or bad as they are. So, it's the opinion of those inside the church and the opinion of those outside the church, and it varies. The problem is though that too many people in the church are being taught incorrectly that if this is a lifetime ban. There is no such thing as a lifetime ban unless you have committed the unpardonable sin. That's not. So, could he in theory come back and teach?

[00:12:17]He could. Could he in theory have a ministry that is evangelizing? Well, we're all supposed to. Could he even in theory ever come back and be a pastor?

[00:12:26]In theory he could, but at his age by the time that people have gotten past it uh and it and it's not a hindrance to his to his uh ministry to him to him serving, probably wouldn't happen. But it could.

[00:12:40]It could. Because again, we need to only go by what the text says. The text does not say.

[00:12:46]And I know we've got some bad preachers who do things. And the funny thing is the bad preachers who do the worst things, they never sit down.

[00:12:53]But there are some who have sat down for a little bit and they come right back immediately. Is he disqualified from ever returning?

[00:13:00]The Bible just doesn't say so.

[00:13:03]It just says that at present he must be above reproach, which means is he blameful, blameworthy, is he blame to be blamed right now for some sin?

[00:13:15]The stain of that sin might still be so um so present that people can't get past it, which means that the audience doesn't see him as respectable or outsiders don't. And maybe in 30 years they might. Maybe in 20 years, maybe in 10 years, maybe in I don't know how long he's been with with Steve Lawson. I don't know. I couldn't say.

[00:13:38]This bothers some people.

[00:13:41]Doesn't bother me as much.

[00:13:43]Um because I don't know his situation.

[00:13:45]And because I don't know his situation, and I don't know the ins and outs of why he was why he fell, and then him coming back, I can't really speak too much. But the principle I can speak to. Why?

[00:13:57]Because the Bible is our guide. And if the Bible doesn't say it, you don't have the right to come back and say or interpret what the Bible doesn't say, or add what you think it should say. Amen.